Advance Party
by Megaolix
Summary: First fic. 1 month after the defeat of Von Bolt, Jake and Lash decide to throw a party to see everyone again and to make Rachel take some free time. But could Jake want more? JakexRachel, minor ColinxLash SPOILERS for AW:DS. Complete!
1. Prologue

Author's notes: Well, here's my first fic. Hopefully you'll like it. I did it because I was a little annoyed to not see any Dual Strike fic. So good reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Advance Wars.

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Prologue

_1 month after the defeat of Von Bolt, Omega Land was almost back to normal.Everyone was still surprised that the land was healing so fast,but they all agreed that the faster it restored itself, the better it would be._

_They all went on their way after the war. Max and Sami went back to Macro land, back to their duties. They told Andy about their adventure, and about his clone. He was sad to learn that clones had emotions and a consciousness, but was happy to learn that his clone found peace before dying._

_Grit has gone back to give the story of the war to Olaf, while Colin and Sasha were appointed to the headquarters of Blue Moon in Omega Land. Grit was happy to see that Colin and Sasha grew closer as brother and sister with all that happened, and was glad to see that Colin was finally able to decide much more often by himself about important decisions._

_Sensei and Grimm also stayed, while Sonja returned to see her father and give her report on the war. Kanbei was glad to learn of Hawke's redemption, though he was also sad to learn of his death._

_Eagle, even if he had his duties in Macro Land, was travelling often with his jet. He was often found in Orange Star, visiting his rival Andy, but also visiting more and more often Sami. Almost everyone had an idea about what was going on between them._

_Jess and Javier both stayed in Omega Land. Even if the events made them closer, Javier was too much of a gentleman, and Jess wondered when he would finally gather his courage to express his feelings._

_Lash, having nowhere to go because of her traitor status with Black Hole, and Hawke's death, decided to stay with Jake and Rachel at Orange Star's headquarters in Omega Land. Jake and Rachel didn't mind, and the soldiers were used fast to see her in just a few days.She proved helpful with the repairs of the bases that Black Hole destroyed. Though some of her ideas for upgrading them were a little too much..._

_Jake and Rachel both worked hard with Lash to repair all the damage that was done. He still had his headphones and his music, but Rachel was starting to worry him. She was starting to get close to a breakdown from all the reports she was reading and typing with each passing day. And he still didn't mustered the courage to tell his feelings. He was a little taken back when she said she viewed him as a brother, but he didn't gave up. And so, he plotted with Lash to try to find a way to force her to take some free time..._

In the briefing room of Orange Star's headquarters...

"So, what do you think, Lash?"

"It's great, teehee. And we'll see everyone back too."

"Alright, I'll go see her now."

Jake left the room and went to see Rachel in her room. After passing some corridors and greeting some soldiers on patrol, he arrived. Upon entering, after knocking, he saw her with three reports on her desk, with her reading two and writing on the third one.

"Hey Rachel, me and Lash got a great idea."

She answered, without moving her eyes to see him:

"Good. Reconstruction use some, with all that is left to do."

Jake sighed. Sometime, and especially this last month, he found her being a little too much hard-working.

"Rachel, it's not about that."

She paused, stiffed a yawn that Jake saw, and turned her head to look at him.

"Then what is this idea?"

"With the land almost fully recovered, we both agreed that it would be nice to see everyone again. So we planned a little party for that."

"Jake, it's great, but there's so much left..."

"Rachel, look at you. You need some time off."

She took a good look at herself. She usually wore clothes properly, taking some time to always appear good to give a good impression of leadership. But since a couple of days, she was more and more looking like a wreck.

"Ok, I look a little tired, but I still need to..."

"How much time do you work these days?"

"Jake, I know you're concerned about me but..."

"Rachel, how much?"

Rachel sighed. Even if Jake looked sometime as carefree as Lash, there was not much getting past him.

"18 hours per day. But I assure you that I feel..."

"That you feel tired. Beside I'm sure everyone want to see you too."

"Alright, alright. I'll go. But for now, I must..."

"Go to sleep so you won't look beaten up when you'll see them, finished Jake."

"What! But I have much to do now, and I most of those are urgent and..."

"Nope. Tomorrow, you'll go shopping with Lash for the party, and I'll take care of things here."

"WHAT! Look, Jake, I appreciate your help, bit I must...Ahh!"

While standing to make her way to Jake, her legs failed her from too much fatigue, and she was falling. Strong arms caught her, and she was currently being carried to her bed, bridal style.

"Hmm, thanks, Jake", said Rachel while reddening a little from the situation.

"Heh, you don't need to thank me. Now, get your sleep, or I'll call Nell."

"Damn. Well, I could... maybe use some...zzzzz..."

Fatigue, after all those days,finally catching up to her, she fell asleep in his arms. Jake smiled and put her comfortably in her bed. After shutting off the lights, he started thinking of the whole situation back in her room, and chuckled a little from it. Then he proceeded to sleep as well, or he would be too much tired to force Rachel to go with Lash tomorrow...

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Author's notes: That's a start. What will happen tomorrow, only me know. But I can maybe promise a few laughs.

So r/r. Don't be afraid of pointing out my mistakes, I can correct them. You can also give me a few ideas, but I'll need your opinion on this to have the strengh to continue this fic.


	2. Chapter 1

Reviewers's responses.

Fofa: Thank you! I hope you'll review again.

MesanShade: Don't worry, I corrected my mistake. Or at least at the best I could, since English isn't my primary language. I hope I won't let you down.

Bill of the Past:I know he didn't die, but everybody except the Bolt Guards think he's dead, so I must respect the story in the game. Thank you for your review.

Naval Ace: Don't worry, I'm not planning to give up on this. I'll finish this unless I get shot down by angry reviewers.

keeperofthescarf: Like I said to Shade, it's been edited. I hope you'll like this fic, and thank you for motivating me.

Author's notes: The new chapter is up! I edited the first to correct the mistake pointed out by my reviewers, and I thank them for that. Just warn me if I make any more in the future. Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Advance Wars.

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Chapter 1

The morning was peaceful. The sun was slowly rising, the wind was peaceful, and some guards stopped patrolling for a few seconds to see the moment. Morning were peaceful, especially this one.

That is, until...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Rachel awoke...

Jake, guessing from the scream that she just woke up, made his way towards her room. Lot of noises were coming from it, but he decided against entering, just in case she was dressing.

"Rachel, what are you doing in there?"

"Did you see what hour this is, Jake? I slept for too much time and I still got most reports from yesterday to finish, and there's still those from today. So now today I must..."

"Remember that you're suppose to go with Lash today? I'll take care of those reports, don't worry."

Rachel got out of the room after Jake's response, looking much, much better than yesterday

"Jake, I got no time for that. And you know you don't really have the patience for that. So let me... Hey, what do you think you're doing?

When Jake realized that convincing Rachel wouldn't work, he did the next best thing to make her go: take her, put her on his shoulder and go meet Lash at her car.

Of course, Rachel wasn't very happy. Being carried while passing some patrolling soldiers, who looked amused at the scene, didn't help with that too.

"Jake... tell me why I should let you carry me like this." She said slowly, anger rising.

"Because if I don't do it, you'll just finish like yesterday. And beside, it's time you take some free time for yourself."

"Not good enough for me, with all the work here."

With that, Rachel proceeded to try to free herself from him.

Outside, a car was waiting at the entrance. Lash was there, dressed as usual, with a soldier near the entrance.

"Wanna make a bet?" said Lash to the soldier.

"Oh yeah? What's the bet?"

"If I win, you'll help me with my next experiment, tee hee."

"And on what are you betting that?"

"That Rachel is going to come here struggling and screaming."

"You're on! Let's see, what I'm betting..."

"I win, toodles!"

"Huh? How are you so sure of that?" asked the soldier, getting nervous at the idea of helping Lash's "experiment".

"Look in that direction."

Sure enough, you could see Rachel struggling and screaming at Jake to put her down, while he still carried her not perturbed by her at all.

"See you in a week, tee hee."

"Serve me right for betting against Lash..." muttered the soldier, leaving while pondering his chances of leaving unscathed by Lash's new idea.

Jake, meanwhile, put Rachel down, and made her enter the car. She sat there, pouting and her arms crossed.

"Jake you don't realize how much work you got to do."

"Don't worry about it and have fun. I promise I'll take care of everything here. You'll see. Now go and have fun."

"Tee hee, I'll make sure of that, Jake."

And after that, she drove off with Rachel toward the city. Jake then returned inside, moving toward the briefing room where the reports were waiting.

"She might be pissed off if I dn't finish those reports, so better start now and listen to rock later.", Jake said to himself.

The briefing room was dark when Jake entered, so he turned the lights on.

"Better, now let's... Tell me I'm dreaming..."

There was dozen and dozen of piles of reports on the large table, waiting to be read. Jake wondered if there was still a space left on it.

"Ok, let's forget the rock..." Jake said to no one.

Meanwhile, on the road...

Rachel wondered if there was something that Lash wasn't carefree about. She was driving a little too recklessly for her tastes, and nearly having three accidents while Lash just said "oops" didn't help at all.

"So, what do we need to get for tomorrow?" asked Rachel.

"Well, since it's a party at the beach, we'll need..."

"Wait, it's on the beach? But I don't have a swimsuit!" said Rachel, panicking a little.

"You don't? Well, let's go get one, tee hee. I'm sure I can find something for you."

Saying that, she took a sharp turn, avoided another car, and headed for a shop she had in mind. Rachel suddenly dreaded what Lash might choose for her. Last time she checked, she had almost everything black in her wardrobes, and she wondered if her eyes really saw that leather suit back then...

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Author's notes: Well, it was maybe a little short, but it's for keeping you in the dark to what will come next, hehe. I can't believe I attracted such great authors to my fanfic... Only Foulds is missing to make my month now... The next chapter won't be up for a little while, because of school. But don't worry, I won't give up. So please, r/r, and thank you for taking time to do so.


	3. Chapter 2

Reviewers's responses First!

Naval Ace : Well, here's the next update. Glad you like it so much!

Fofa : Hehe, glad I'm not that bad in English. and I'm happy to know I got a reaction from that suit...

MesanShade : I know all too well what you're talking about. Making descriptions is my biggest problem, sine I prefer to get straight to the point. While I know they ARE necessary, I don't want to dwell on them too much.

Bill of the Past : Nobody is perfect, but I know that Foulds deserve all the respect he get. Even if there's some things I don't agree with.

Aya-Angel of Mars :I do what I can for grammar, but I always make sure that there's no spelling mistakes, or at least as few as possible. For your request, let's see... well, yeah.I can make them do some things together, but not that much. but I'm sure you'll appreciate those times.

keeperofthescarf : Well, I do what I can for the length. For descriptions, like I said to MesanShade, I don't like them that much, but I'll do what I can. It's just that I don't find that necessary to tell what the reader already see in his head when they talk. But I'll keep it in mind for the next chapter. And I'm really glad that you like this fic!

Foulds : First, sorry if I didn't answered you before my edit, but I saw your review just after I posted the next chapter. For your question, don't worry, there is a pretty good hintfor the relationship between Jake and Rachel near the end of the game. For descriptions, I know I have to do better in that area, and I do what I can to add descriptions when I can. Glad you like my fic!

Author's notes : Well, here's the next chapter. I TRIED to be more descriptive for the environments as asked, but description for dialogues are a problem to me. Sorry for it. Anyway, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer : I don't own Advance Wars.

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"We're here!" Lash shouted.

Rachel breathed in relief. First, for reaching the place without accidents. And also because the place Lash choose was a normal shop.

They entered the shop and Lash quickly dragged her near the changing room, which was close to the bathing suits.

"Wait here and let me search something for you. I'm sure you'll love it, teehee."

"Lash, I can search for one too, you know?" answered Rachel, becoming nervous at the idea of Lash choosing for her.

"Nuu-huh. I know you, you're going to choose something that cover all. Just wait here, I saw it a little earlier."

And after saying this, Lash quickly disappeared, searching for it.

Rachel took a glance around where she was. There was mostly bikinis to choose from, along with some one-piece suits. All were varied in colors, but also in size, upon closer inspection. How can some of them be so small and who could choose to wear this, Rachel didn't wanted to know.

"I'm back! Like what I choose?" said Lash, emerging from a corner.

Rachel turned her attention towards Lash. And upon seeing what she choose, she did the only rational thing she could think of...

Orange Star's headquarters, near a sentry tower.

"...and that's how I lost that damned bet..." said a soldier.

"Ha ha ha! You sure got into a fine mess!" Said another soldier, laughing from the predicament of the other.

"How can you laugh at my misery? I'm not even sure to survive Lash's experiment. Remember that she asked Rachel to deliver to her lab a large stock of gunpowder last week?" cried the unhappy soldier.

"Don't worry, man, she refused that request. Rachel knows what Lash can do sometimes. Anyway, you better go and enjoy the time you have left, ha ha!"

"Thank you so much for your support..." said the ill-fated soldier.

The soldier watched his poor friend reach the stairs before turning his attention to the horizon. A few seconds passed when...

"...WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?"

Surprised, the soldier fell backward, but quickly got back on his feet.

"What the hell was that?" he shouted.

"I... don't..ouch!...know..." said a voice, in pain.

Searching for the person who said that, his gaze found his friend, who had reached ground level in a painful way, surprised too by the scream.

"Errr... You're okay down here?" said the soldier on top.

"I hate my life..." answered the soldier in pain.

Back at the store...

A few clients went deaf for a few seconds, looked at the owner of the scream, and understood by a mere glance what happened.

The swimming suit, a bikini, that Lash currently held proudly was beating in size easily all the others suits. For being the smallest, that is. Rachel even wondered if it could hide something at all. No way she was going to wear that!

"Lash... Are you sure you choose the correct size?" Rachel asked, fearful at the idea of wearing it.

"Don't worry, it's perfect! You'll be sure to catch some eyes with it! And you're certainly going to catch the attention of..."

"Well, well... It look like the kitten is as crazy as usual...Only you would choose something THAT ugly..." said a new voice, coming from the back.

Lash immediately lost her smile, recognizing who it was, and turned to face her.

Sure enough, it was Kindle, dressed in casual clothes. Jugger was behind her, holding some clothes that Kindle obviously wanted to try. And Rachel saw Koal outside, waiting in a car, asleep. Rachel assumed that Kindle was here for a good time.

The shouting took her out of her thoughts, and she saw Lash and Kindle already insulting each other. Jugger just stood her, waiting for Kindle to finish.

"Sigh... At this rate I'll never find... Wait a minute..." said Rachel to herself.

Her eyes catching a red swimming suit, she took it in her hands to look at it better. It was a one-piece suit, entirely red in color. She took it and she got in a cabin to try it. She then looked at herself in a mirror.

While the front of her body was covered by the suit, her back was exposed. Rachel found it perfect. The size was good for her, and it was not too covering, as Lash put it, nor it was too exposing, and certainly much better than what Lash had in mind.

Satisfied, she put her clothes back, and got to the counter to pay. She then got back to Lash and Kindle, who were still arguing, and dragged Lash away to the car.

"Rachel! Let me go, I got to beat that crazy psycho and..." said Lash, while she still shouted insults at her sworn enemy.

"I'm sure you'll get another chance." Answered Rachel. "For now, we got stuff to buy, remember? And by the way, who were you referring to before Kindle interrupted?" she asked.

"Huh? You mean you don't know at all?" said Lash, surprised.

"Know what? Is there something I should know?"

Lash, surprised and shocked at Rachel's reaction, jut stood here before answering :

"I'm not telling! Figure it out yourself!"

"Well then, never mind." Said Rachel then. _"But I still wonder who is it..." _she thought.

But how was Jake doing meanwhile?

Jake, usually calm and confident, was desperate to see the end of those reports. And the five soldiers he called to help were also as desperate as him. While Jake still had to sign them, they could read and summarize them so he didn't had to read all of them by himself.

When the end of the day was near, about only the quarter had been done. Everyone in the room, and patrols passing by, wondered how could Rachel work like that all this time without falling under the pressure. She definitely was too much hard-working, in Jake's mind.

"Commander Jake." Said a soldier, coming in. "Rachel and Lash just came back a minute ago, if you wanted to know."

"Alright. You can go guys, and thanks for the help." Answered Jake.

All five of them shouted with joy and scrambled to get out as fast as possible. Jake got up, but instead of going out, he just stood near a wall, hidden from people just entering.

Sure enough, footsteps were heard a few seconds later. Jake waited, and when someone entered the room, he immediately intercepted her.

"Rachel, I've already told you : You need a break from this."

It was her alright. Jake knew what she was going to do the minute she would came back from the city.

"Jake? How did you know it was me and that I would come here? But I still need to work on those reports now! I took a break as you asked but now..." answered Rachel.

"Now you need to rest for tomorrow. Remember the party we're having?"

"Alright, alright. I'll go away..."

"And I'm keeping the key to the room so yo can't sneak in when I'm away."

"You can't do that! I must check those reports before..." said Rachel, thinking of a way for going in since Jake guessed her plan again.

"Before what? I'm sure you'll have enough time later do to them, with my help. Now do you want me to carry you so I'm sure you away from them?"

"Fine." pouted Rachel. "You win. Just stop treating me like a small girl, I can take care of myself."

"That's because I care for you and your health." Said Jake.

Before she turned the corner, Jake could swore he just saw her blush like last night. Then he realized what he just said.

"Oh well. It couldn't have hurt" he said, before going to sleep too.

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Author's note : Here's some sad news.I got only one chapter left to do for this. While it's fun to write this, my interests are going towards Riviera, which I already started a fic in this section, and the upcoming Megaman Zero 4. but the good side is that with one chapter left and much to write about, it's gonna be a LONG chapter, or as long as I can find to write. The last chapter WILL take time to write, so don't expect it too soon.

So, as always, r/r.


	4. Chapter 3

First like always, reviewers's responses.

Naval Ace : Thanks! I shall keep that advice well for future fics.

Keeperofthescarf: Don't worry, mistakes happens everyday, so I don't mind. And don't worry; I think you'll like the last part of the fic!

Aya-Angel of Mars: I'm sorry, but I simply can't think of anything else I could add. This would result in a wait even bigger than for this chapter. I simply can't do it. On a side-note, I was able to think of a few moments for Colin and Lash. Nothing big, but I'm sure you'll appreciate.

Author's notes: I finally found the time and ideas to kick myself for finishing this. School takes a good chunk of time and some homework are taking even more time. But I'll finally conclude this, after the long wait. I don't know if you'll like it, since some of my goods scenes were lost on a computer incident.

By the way, if there's any Max's fans reading this, I apologize in advance. You'll see why...

So, enjoy the last chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Advance Wars

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Normally, at 6 in the morning, the base was usually quiet. Guards would change shifts, and the activity was slowly starting.

However, making sure that Rachel wasn't trying to grab some reports before leaving was a task a lot harder than what Jake and Lash had in mind.

After practically pushing her to the car, and made sure they didn't forgot anything, Jake took the driver's seat, after listening to Rachel's pleas of not letting Lash drive.

30 minutes later, they arrived.

The beach was calm and beautiful. The sand's pale color, combined with the clean sea's water, making it beautiful and soothing to just look at it. Vegetation, which was a little away from the sand, was growing in a true natural way, indicating that people didn't come here often. Much farther away, a hill could be seen, but it was a little too far away to go se it by foot.

Since they arrived first, they began to set up what they brought. Jake, helped by Rachel, set up the speakers, and made sure the music could be heard perfectly, without any disturbance. Lash was setting up a barbecue she built herself. Rachel was panicking at the idea of Lash cooking the food, with her personalized barbecue, but Jake was able to calm her down.

No sooner than they finished, the others CO arrived. Sensei, Grimm, Sonja and Kanbei were the first of them, and Grimm, who wanted to take care of the food, made sure he brought enough food for day, counting even himself.

Sasha, Colin, Olaf and Grit arrived after them. After apologizing for taking so long to arrive, since he followed at first Olaf's directions, he had to listen once again Olaf talking, for being "disrespectful" to his leader.

Drake, Javier, Jess and Eagle were next. Judging by the loud confrontation between Eagle and Jess, they had argued which road they had to take, and Drake simply took the road he knew was the good, after another unsuccessful attempt to make them stop.

Lastly, Andy, Max, Sami, Nell and Hachi arrived. They were the farthest from the beach, but Nell's luck made them found a shortcut, explaining why they arrived much sooner than anticipated.

The party could finally start.

Everyone was already dispersed, talking in groups about what happened recently. Hachi and Sensei talked about the good old time and Grimm was trying once again to make Colin become a true man. Sami was currently trying to bring Eagle in the water, whom the later was just trying to get away at all cost from it. Sasha, after greeting the persons she didn't knew, was deciding if beating up Max was a good idea for a comment made a second ago.

Jake and Andy were talking near the speakers.

"So, you're Andy? Nice to meet you." Jake started.

"And you're Jake. Max and Sami told me much about you." Andy answered.

"I take it you heard about your clone..." Jake said, a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah... But at least, I'm happy to know he died peacefully." Andy responded, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I heard you were little too cheerful on the battlefield. I always wondered why."

"Well, it's true that I'm a little overexcited in battle. But then, how should I act in front of the soldiers I send? Quiet and gloomy, making them nervous before the battle or optimist and a little confident? The soldiers know well that they could die on the battlefield, but it's no reason to damp their spirit even more. And always grieving for them after each battle won't help win the war. Sure, I'm sad to see them die, but I'm sure each of them would kick me where it hurt for letting it interfere with future battle." Andy explained.

"Wow, I guess I never thought about it that way... And now that you mention it, I always act calm on the battlefield, whoever the foe is."

"You see? No use getting depressed hen you must win a battle."

"Now I see why they call you the mechanical ninja."

"Hehe, that nickname even made it to Omega Land? I am that popular?" Andy asked, a little uncomfortable.

"Yup. And... Hey, what's happening over here?" Jake asked, curious.

Apparently, Max also managed to upset Rachel, and both girl wanted to beat him up. But being civilized, they challenged him at a volleyball game, and Max was searching for a partner.

However, both girls had an evil grin behind Max, ideas flowing in their head.

"Err... Should we help him?" Jake asked, a little nervous from the scene.

"Well... You know Sasha and Rachel way better than me, so they shouldn't harm you, at least..." Andy answered, not daring to touch that matter with a ten foot pole.

"Good point. Wish me luck."

Jake resigned to a least help his friend start the game. Judging by the looks Sasha and Rachel had, the game would be short.

Max thanked him, unaware of the grins the girls had, and all four of them headed for the volleyball's net which had been set up earlier.

Meanwhile, Colin managed to escape from Grimm, and wondered what his sister was doing, and why was she grinning that much.

Finding Lash looking cheerfully at them, he headed towards her to get some answers.

"Hey Lash, what is going on here?"

Lash turned to face Colin, still having her cheerful smile.

"Hey, rich boy, how are you going? I didn't saw you when you arrived. Where were you?" Lash asked, as happy as always.

"Grimm caught me, and I just escaped him a while ago. But what is my sister doing here?" Colin asked, a little nervous.

The smile Sasha had meant trouble.

"Well... Max managed to piss off both Sasha and Rachel, and wanted to take him out in a game. Jake is helping Max since he's his friend, and also because he could escape the girls's wrath." She answered, cheerfully as ever.

"Wrath? What are you talking a..."

Sasha found the opportunity to send the ball flying directly towards Max, or rather his head. He found himself a second later on the sand, feeling much pain. Judging by the smiles Rachel and Sasha had, it was far from over for Max.

"Ouch... That gotta hurt," Colin said, knowing how angry his sister would be sometimes.

"Don't pity him, he deserved it. Come on, cheer them on too!" Lash said, trying to make Colin do so.

"What? But won't..." Colin started.

"Come on, rich boy, it's your sister, so I'm sure Max will understand. Beside, you gotta keep your sister happy, right?" Lash said, playfully.

"Well... Err... Good work, sis!" Colin shouted, a little embarrassed.

Sasha turned towards him, giving him a smile, before turning towards Max, who gulped when he saw the look Sasha was giving him.

Unfortunately for him, he missed the shot Rachel made towards him.

"Yeah! Go girls, show him what you're made of! Come on, rich boy, don't stop now!"

Lash was enjoying herself like when she was in her lab, while Colin, looking sheepishly at Max, cheered on his sister, pushed to do so by Lash.

As Jake guessed, the game didn't last long.

The girls, satisfied, left Max in a dazed state, from all the hits he took. Jake left shortly after, and just looked for now at Sami and Eagle. She finally managed to send him in the water, and she made sure he stayed in, making Eagle resign from escaping his fate.

Sasha approched Jake, wanting to talk a little with him.

"Hello Jake, Thanks again for giving me and Rachel the chance to play."

The boys who were near Max earlier had the same idea as Andy, and girls wouldn't have been able to "punish" Max if Jake hadn't arrived.

"Err... It was nothing, really." Jake answered nervously, sparing a glance at Max.

"So, by the way, have you finally asked Rachel out yet?" She asked, a little curious.

"Well... Still not. But I think I'll try this evening." Jake answered, a little nervous for talking about this with her.

"Really? Where?" Sasha wondered. Jake surely had something planned.

"Do you see over there?" Jake pointed out to Sasha.

"Isn't that the..."

"Yup."

"Well, I wish you good luck for it then." Sasha said, before going elsewhere.

After she made sure nobody could hear her, she let out a sigh.

"You better succeed, or else you'll make me regret letting you go..." She muttered, silently.

The party was a lot of fun for everyone, except a little less fun for Max, who learned that pissing off a girl is always a bad idea. Everything was smooth, except a little incident from Lash's barbecue. "What's wrong with having a little more fire than normal?" She said for her defense, having a unique definition of "little".

Everyone was now saying goodbye before leaving.

"So, rich boy, how's life going for you these days?" Lash asked, a little curious.

"Well, nothing much has happened since we brought peace, so the days are as quiet as they can." Colin answered.

"How boring. Will you come visit? Fun stuff is always happening there, so you wouldn't get bored."

"Well... I suppose I could. I'm sure Sasha can take care of things by herself."

Lash looked around, and after making sure no one was looking at them, gave a small kiss on Colin's cheek, before running away.

"Well then, see you soon, rich boy!" Lash shouted, waving at him before heading for her car.

"I... Well... Err..."

Colin, as red as a tomato right now, just decided to head back to the car he was taking.

A few minutes later...

"Hey, Rachel, do you mind if I take a little detour before heading back to the base?"

Jake was driving, Rachel was next to him, and Lash was sleeping on the back seat, drained by the party.

"Huh? What for?" Rachel asked, curious.

"I would like to show you something before we go back." He answered.

"Well, sure then. But what is it?" She asked, even more curious.

"It's a surprise." Jake answered, hiding a grin from Rachel.

Jake stopped the car on the side of the road, near a hill. Nature was quickly restored to the hill, giving it back his former beauty. Since Lash was still sleeping, he let her do so. After taking some minutes to climb the hill, they arrived to the top.

"Here, look." Jake said.

Rachel finally got a good view from the plains below the hill.

"Wow..." Rachel said, not finding any words to describe what she was looking at.

The plains had recovered quickly from the last war. Almost everywhere, from the hill, you could see flowers blossoming, covering almost all of the plains. The hill itself had a good share of flowers, too. And the sunset added even more beauty to the picture.

"Jake... It's... It is beautiful. I never saw something like this before... But... why did you bring me here now?" Rachel asked, amazed from the view.

"Well... There's something I wanted to tell you, since a good time now..."

Rachel couldn't have been ever more puzzled in her life than now.

"I'll just get straight to the point, if you don't mind. Rachel, I love you."

Jake's mind finally stopped holding his breath. He finally said it! But how would she react?

One look was enough to see that Rachel was already flushed up from the declaration.

"Jake... I... But I'm not... I..."

Rachel was at a loss for words. Her mind was filled with thoughts, and even more questions.

Jake, acting on an impulse, walked in front of Rachel, He placed his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him in his eyes, too shy to speak. He then kissed her.

She didn't resist, not that she would, mind you. Jake's mind was shouting his joy, guess what for. Rachel mind's detonated like fireworks, and, unsure of her a moment ago, started kissing him back.

Needing to breathe, Jake broke the kiss gently, and looked in her eyes, his hands now on her back.

"Jake... I... I love you too..." Rachel finally said, after a while. She rested her head on his chest, stunned by the spur of the moment.

Heading back to the car, holding each other, Rachel started to talk:

"Still, Jake, I wonder what you see in me..." She said, curious.

"Come on, Rachel. Stop putting yourself down. You already know the answer." Jake answered, gently.

"Yeah..."

Just before the reached the end of the hill, Rachel made Jake stop for a moment.

"Why...?" Jake started.

"Please...Just hold me for a moment." Rachel asked.

And he did so. Jake put his arms around her, holding her close. Jake, her eyes closed, put again her head on his chest, thinking.

He always took care of her, whatever happened, even during the war. When she wasn't sure of a plan, he has persuaded her that it was good, and that nothing was wrong with it. When she panicked, viewing the numbers of the enemies, he calmed her down. When, on that last battle, she was afraid and was even crying a little, he comforted her and gave her his trust in her abilities.

Why she never saw herself that she loved him, she didn't know. But she was going to make sure to get back the time she lost for that.

The End.

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Author's notes: Well, I hope you've liked it. I'm sorry again for such the long wait.

I don't know if I'll write again in the Advance Wars section. I have absolutely no idea right now, and I have another fic to finish. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed. You helped me boost my confidence for the first chapter of my first fic.

So, farewell, and r/r.


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